Variable-speed control motor mount



0. W. HOWARD VARIABLE-SPEED CONTROL. MOTOR MOUNT Feb. 16, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 11, 1952 Fig. I

Fig. 2

Oliver W. Howard INVENTOR.. 1 BY l aw; 3m

Feb. 16, 1954 o. w. HOWARD VARIABLE-SPEED CONTROL MOTOR MOUNT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 11, 1952 llil! 44 Fig.5

Oliver W Howard INVENTOR. Wm (W 3% Patented Feb. 16, 1954 VARIABLE-SPEED CONTROL IMOTOR MOUNT Oliver W. Howard, Abilene, Ten, assignor of twenty-five per cent to W. Lee Byrd, Abilene,

' Tex.

Application January 11, 1952, Serial No. 265,957

2 Claims.

This invention relates generally to a variable speed control arni'more particularly to a vari'able speed control for a belt driven blower.

The primary object of this invention is to provi'demeans for varying the speed of a blower whereby the volume of air moved thereby may be reduced or increased as desired.

Another object of this invention is-to provide a linkage whereby the "variable speed control means can be operate'dat a distance from the blower to which it is attached.

Another object of this inventionis to provide an exceptionally simple, durable and compact mechanism for varying the speed of the pulley on the blower, which can be readily applied to blowers now on the market without any change in the construction thereof.

A further object of the invention is to provide means whereby the motor for the blower may be pivotally mounted on the blower so to vary the tension in the belt connecting the blower pulley *to the motor, said motor being provided with a variable speed pulley which is responsive to thevariation in the tension of the drive belt.

These, together with various ancillary features and objects of the invention, which will later become apparent as the following description proceeds, are attained by the present invention, a preferred embodiment of which has been illustrated, by way of example only, in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side-elevational view of a blower mountedon a support, the'blower being provided-witha variable speed control, which is the subject of this invention;

Figure 2 is a partial front elevational view of the blower of Figure 1, a portion of thesupport being removed to show the connectionbetween the motor and the blower;

v Figure 3 is a perspective view of an adjustable mount for attaching the motor to the blower in pivotal relation;

Figure 4 is a central verticalsectional view taken substantiallyupon the plane indicated by the section line 4-4 of Figure 3, the motor being shown in dotted lines; I =-Fig'ure 5 is a partial central'vertical sectional view taken substantially upon the plane indicated by the section'line 5-5 of Figure 1 and showing the adjustable feature of the linkage;

Figure 6 ha transverse vertical sectional view taken'substantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 6--6 of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is an enlarged partial elevational view of the lower plate of the mount shown in Figure 2 3 and particularly shows the construction of a mounting bracket and the mounting arm for an adjusting means.

Referring now more specifically to the accompanying drawings, wherein like numerals designate similar parts throughout the various views, it will be seen that the-embodiment oi the invention depicted in the drawings as illustrative of the principles of the invention, comprises a blower having mounted thereon means for driving said blower at variable speeds. Referring more specifically to Figure 1,it will 'be seen that the invention comprises a conventional blower which will be referred to hereinafter by the reference numerallfl. Theblower 10.15 mounted in a support I2 bysupport legs [4 carried by the blower l8 and secured to the support I 2. The support 12. is provided with afront wall l6 which is intended to be mounted in an opening such as a windowor the like. The blower ll! has a housing l8 which is provided with a flanged out let 28. The frontwall [6 of the support is also provided with a flanged outlet which is designated by the reference numeral 22. A fiexible conduit 24 extends between and is secured to the flanged outlets 20 and 22. Theflexible conduit 24 forms an expansion joint between'the blower l0 and the support l2. Rotatably journaled in the blowerhousing I8 is a shaft 26. Mounted on the shaft 26 within the blower housing I8 is a conventional blower fan or rotor 28. Also-carried by the shaft26, but externally of the blower housing I8 is a pulley 30 which is intended to be driven by a motor.

Secured to the top-of the blower housing l8is a mount for a motor; said mount being generally designated by the reference numeral 32 and shown in greater detail in'Figures 3, 4; and 7. The mount 32 includes a first plate 34 and a second plate 36 in overlying relation to the first plate 34. The plates 34 and36 have formed along one edge thereof a plurality of hinge eyes 38 through which are passed a hinge pin 40, which secures the plates 34 and together in hinged relation. The upper plate 36 is provided with a plurality of apertures 42 through which are passed fasteners 44 for securing an electric motorto thesecond plate 35. 'The plate 36 has a corner opposite its hinged edge which is partially severed from the plate and bent up'at an angle thereto'to form an oifset arm 46. Carried by the underside of the arm 46 is a socket member 48, the function of which will be explained in detail hereinafter. Integral with and extendins beyond the hinged edge. of the first plate 34 cured to the underside of the plate 34.

the top of the blower housing I8.

at a slight angle thereto is a mounting bracket 56. The mounting bracket 58 is located centrally of the hinged edge of the plate 36. The mounting bracket 59 is provided with an aperture 52 which is adapted to receive a mounting bolt. Carried by the plate 34 at one corner thereof and substantially underlying the arm 46 is an L-shaped bracket 54. One arm of the bracket 54 is secured to the plate 34 and the other arm carries at its free end an internally threaded sleeve 5%. The axis of the sleeve 58 is at an angle to the plates 34 and 35 and. substantially normal to the plane of the arm 48. Also carried by the plate 34 is a second mounting flange 58, which is integral with a flange an se- The mounting flange 58 is secured adjacent the arm 54 and extends normal to the plane of the plate 34. The mounting flange 58 is provided with an aperture 62 for receiving a mounting bolt.

Referring once again to Figure l, the mounting flange 58 is secured to the side of the blower housing 18 by a bolt 64 which passes through the aperture 62. A bolt 68 is passed through the aperture 52 in the mounting flange 58 and is rigidly secured to the top of the blower housing 18. A nut 58 is threadedly received on the bolt 66 and engages the upper side of the mounting bracket 50, whereby when it is tightened down on the bracket the bottom of the plate 34 is thrown into compressive engagement with Carried by the mount 32 is a conventional electric motor on which is mounted a variable speed drive pulley 12. A drive belt 14 connects the drive pulley '52 with the driven pulley of the blower.

Connected to the mount 32 and carried by the front wall l6 of the support I2 is a linkage for pivoting the upper plate 36 with respect to the plate 34 about the hinge pin 40. is generally designated by the reference numeral 16 and includes a bolt 18 threadedly received in the internally threaded sleeve 56 for motion longitudinally thereof. The bolt 18 has a reduced upper end 80 which is universally received in the socket 48 of the arm 48 carried by the plate 38. Carried by the lower end of the bolt 18 is a universal connector 82. Attached to the other end of the universal connector 82 is an elongated guide 84 which is slidably received in a sleeve 86 carried by the rod 88. Mounted on the front wall I6 is a control which includes a mounted bracket 90, a shaft 92 rotatably mounted therein and extending therethrough, and a control handle 94 mounted on the end of the shaft away from the blower 10. The shaft 92 is connected to the rod 88 by a universal connector 96. As is readily apparent, when the control handle 94 is rotated the bolt 18 is also rotated in the same direction. Likewise rotation of the control handle 94 results in the movement of the upper end 88 of the bolt 1-8 towards the plate whereby it is tilted with respect to the plate 34 about the hinge pin 40. When the control handle 94 is rotated counter-clockwise the upper end 80 will be withdrawn and the plate 36 may turn to its original position by the weight of the motor 10. Since the length of the linkage 18 is varied as the bolt 18 is moved longitudinally through the sleeve 56, it is obvious that an expansion connection such as that shown between the rod 84 and sleeve 86 is required.

Referring now to Figure 5, it will be seen that the sleeve 86 slidably receives therein the rod 84. Adjacent the end in which the rod 84 is The linkage tion in the tension in the drive belt 14.

received, the sleeve 88 is provided with a pair of diametrically opposite slots 88. A cotter key I00 is passed through the end of the rod 84 and is slidably received in the slots 98. By this construction the rod 84 may have its effective length varied by sliding in and out of the sleeve 86 and at the same time is rotatably connected to the sleeve 86 by the cotter key I00.

The variable speed drive pulley '12 mounted on the motor 18 is a special pulley and does not form a part of this invention, A special pulley of this type is fully described in the U. S. Patent No. 2,050,358, and the construction is such that when the tension on the associated drive belt is increased, the effective diameter of the guide pulley is reduced whereby the speed of the drive belt is also reduced.

In order that the speed of the blower 28 may be controlled, it is necessary to either increase or decrease the tension of the drive belt 14. In view of the foregoing description of the operation of the linkage 16, it will be seen that when the plate 36 is tilted with respect to the plate 34 in response to clockwise rotation of the control handle 94, that the electric motor K0 is tilted away from the pulley 38 and results in an increase in the tension of the drive belt 14'. The increase in the tension of the drive belt 14 results in the effective diameter of the variable speed pulley '12 being reduced, whereby the speed of the pulley 30 is also reduced accordingly. When the control handle 94 is rotated counterclockwise, the electric motor 10 is moved towards the pulley 38 with the resultant reduc- The efiective diameter of the variable speed pulley i2 is then increased, and the speed of the pulley 30 is also increased accordingly. It is obvious that the air moved by the blower I0 is directly proportional to the speed of the pulley 38 so that any change in the speed of the pulley 38 results in a change in the volume of the air moved by the blower It).

From the foregoing, the construction and operation of the device will be readily understood and further explanation is believed to be unnecessary. However, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the appended claims.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. For use in a variable speed control including a motor and a driven shaft, a mounting attachment comprising a first plate adapted to be secured to support means for the driven shaft, a second plate overlying said first plate and being adapted to have secured thereto the motor, said plates having meshing hinge knuckles pivotally connected by a hinge pintle to permit relative hinging of said plates, said first plate having depending therefrom an L-shaped support, a sloping sleeve carried by said L-shaped support, said sleeve being internally threaded and in alignment with a generally spherical socket carried by an upwardly struck tab on said second plate, an adjusting bolt threadedly engaged in said sleeve and having an upper end universally received in said socket, means for facilitating rotation of said bolt to adjust the relationship of said plates.

2. For use in a variable speed control including a motor and a driven shaft, a mounting attachment comprising a first plate adapted to be secured to support means for the driven shaft, a second plate overlying said first plate and being adapted to have secured thereto the motor, said plates having meshing hinge knuckles pivotally connected by a hinge pintle to permit relative hinging of said plates, said first plate having depending therefrom an L-shaped support, a sloping sleeve carried by said L-shaped support, said sleeve being internally threaded and in alignment with a generally spherical socket carried by an upwardly struck tab on said second plate, an adjusting bolt threadedly engaged in said sleeve and having an upper end universally received in said socket, means for facilitating rotation of said bolt to adjust the rela- References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,436,555 Winter Nov. 211, 1922 1,810,536 Scism June 16, 1931 2,198,420 Winton Apr. 23, 1940 2,258,776 Hommedieu Oct. 14, 1941 

